Sorority

Dec 27 How Not Posting New Content Improved my Blog

For the past two months I haven't posted any new content on my blog. Not one new blog post, guest post, picture, nothing; but my page views have consistently stayed the highest they've ever been!

In the middle of the semester, I was completely stressed out, to the point where I contemplated dropping out and opening a Mac n' Cheese store with my friends in Disneyland (we were going crazy.) I had no time or mental energy to come up with new content or even think about my blog.

When I was getting ready to go back home for Thanksgiving break I started thinking about how I hadn't done any work my my website and how my page views must've been in the toilet. I logged into my analytics and saw that they were actually some of the highest they had ever been! I started looking at where they came from and realized three key things:

my highest read posts have been my most read posts for over a year: most of my new content wasn't even making it close in my statistics for viewership.

most of my new content had nothing to do with my old content.

my traffic came mostly from Pinterest and other blogs (thanks for all the shoutouts guys!)

This information was eye opening. I realized all of my new, irrelevant content was almost like digital clutter weighing my blog down. I looked at my analytics honestly and objectively and realized that I'm not a fashion blogger, or a food blogger or a travel blogger. My blog is a guidebook for life based on the obstacles I've faced. People respond the best to the things I can write the about the most honestly: right now that's college!

I've used my analytics to help me create ideas for new content in 2016. Instead of posting daily of weekly I will be posting relevant content bi-weekly!

I have been on a blog hiatus since early August, and a social media blackout since late December. I got to a point with my blog that I was creating the same content over and over: I felt uninspired and unmotivated... I had no idea how beneficial this time away from thinking about content would be for my creativity and my general well-being.

Two years ago today I sat down, bought a domain, wrote 10 blog posts, took really bad pictures at night, and The College Life Stylist was born. Over those two years it's grown and changed with me; evolving as I have through college and life.